320 Useless But Good To Know Facts

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born on and died on days when Halley’s Comet can be seen. During his life he predicted that he would die when it could be seen.

US Dollar bills are made out of cotton and linen.

The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of pickle types the company once had.

Americans are responsible for about 1/5 of the world’s garbage annually. On average, that’s 3 pounds a day per person.

Giraffes and rats can last longer without water than camels.

Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks so that it doesn’t digest itself.

98% of all murders and rapes are by a close family member or friend of the victim.

A B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945.

The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp (marijuana) paper.

The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.

A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

Benjamin Franklin was the fifth in a series of the youngest son of the youngest son.

Triskaidekaphobia means fear of the number 13. Paraskevidekatriaphobia means fear of Friday the 13th (which occurs one to three times a year). In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number. In Japan, 4 is considered an unlucky number.

A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.

All the chemicals in a human body combined are worth about 6.25 euro (if sold separately).

In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.

It’s estimated that at any one time around 0.7% of the world’s population is drunk.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades = David; Clubs = Alexander the Great; Hearts = Charlemagne; Diamonds = Caesar.

40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

Every person, including identical twins, has a unique eye and tongue print along with their finger print.

The “spot” on the 7-Up logo comes from its inventor who had red eyes. He was an albino.

315 entries in Webster’s 1996 dictionary were misspelled.

The “save” icon in Microsoft Office programs shows a floppy disk with the shutter on backwards.

Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin both married their first cousins (Elsa Lawenthal and Emma Wedgewood respectively).

Camel’s have three eyelids.

On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents every day.

John Wilkes Booth’s brother once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son.

Warren Beatty and Shirley McLaine are brother and sister.

Chocolate can kill dogs; it directly affects their heart and nervous system.

Daniel Boone hated coonskin caps.

Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If captured, they could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

55.1% of all US prisoners are in prison for drug offenses.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark’s stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.

Dr. Seuss pronounced his name “soyce”.

Slugs have four noses.

Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.

The Three Wise Monkeys have names: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).

India has a Bill of Rights for cows.

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. If you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.

During the California gold rush of 1849, miners sent their laundry to Honolulu for washing and pressing. Due to the extremely high costs in California during these boom years, it was deemed more feasible to send their shirts to Hawaii for servicing.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by taking out an olive from First Class salads.

About 200,000,000 M&Ms are sold each day in the United States.

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

Over a course of about eleven years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch places. This cycle is called “Solarmax”.

There are 318,979,564,000 possible combinations of the first four moves in Chess.

Upper and lower case letters are named “upper” and “lower” because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the upper case letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the lower case letters.

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

The numbers “172? can be found on the back of the US 5 dollar bill, in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

Coconuts kill about 150 people each year. That’s more than sharks.

Half of all bank robberies take place on a Friday.

The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan. There was never a recorded Wendy before it.

The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.

The first bomb the Allies dropped on Berlin in WWII killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

The average raindrop falls at 7 miles per hour.

It took Leonardo Da Vinci 10 years to paint Mona Lisa. He never signed or dated the painting. Leonardo and Mona had identical bone structures according to the painting. X-ray images have shown that there are 3 other versions under the original.

If you put a drop of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

Bruce Lee was so fast that they had to slow the film down so you could see his moves.

The largest amount of money you can have without having change for a dollar is $1.19 (3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies cannot be divided into a dollar).

The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”.

IBM’s motto is “Think”. Apple later made their motto “Think different”.

The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white, due to low budget.

The original name for butterfly was flutterby.

The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

One in fourteen women in America is a natural blonde. Only one in sixteen men is.

The Olympic was the sister ship of the Titanic, and she provided twenty-five years of service.

When the Titanic sank, 2228 people were on it. Only 706 survived.

In America, someone is diagnosed with AIDS every 10 minutes. In South Africa, someone dies due to HIV or AIDS every 10 minutes.

Every day, 7% of the US eats at McDonald’s.

The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was Victrola, which Motorola got their name from.

In the US, about 127 million adults are overweight or obese; worldwide, 750 million are overweight and 300 million more are obese. In the US, 15% of children in elementary school are overweight; 20% are worldwide.

In Disney’s Fantasia, the Sorcerer to whom Mickey played an apprentice was named Yensid (Disney spelled backward).

During his entire life, Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting, “Red Vineyard at Arles”.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

One in ten people live on an island.

It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

28% of Africa is classified as wilderness. In North America, its 38%.

Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

Sherlock Holmes NEVER said “Elementary, my dear Watson”, Humphrey Bogart NEVER said “Play it again, Sam” in Casablanca, and they NEVER said “Beam me up, Scotty” on Star Trek.

An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3 steps backwards while dancing.

Sharon Stone was the first Star Search spokes model.

The sound you here when you put a seashell next to your ear is not the ocean, but blood flowing through your head.

More people are afraid of open spaces (kenophobia) than of tight spaces (claustrophobia).

The glue on Israeli postage is certified kosher.

There is a 1 in 4 chance that New York will have a white Christmas.

The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

Back in the mid to late ’80s, an IBM compatible computer wasn’t considered 100% compatible unless it could run Microsoft’s Flight Simulator.

$203,000,000 is spent on barbed wire each year in the U.S.

Every US president has worn glasses (just not always in public).

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

Jim Henson first coined the word “Muppet”. It is a combination of “marionette” and “puppet.”

The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with (not counting the words “North” and “South).

The Michelin man is known as Mr. Bib. His name was Bibendum in the company’s first ads in 1896.

About 20% of bird species have become extinct in the past 200 years, almost all of them because of human activity.

The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

About 14% of injecting drug users are HIV positive.

A word or sentence that is the same front and back (racecar, kayak) is called a “palindrome”.

A snail can sleep for 3 years.

People photocopying their buttocks are the cause of 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide.

China has more English speakers than the United States.

Finnish folklore says that when Santa comes to Finland to deliver gifts, he leaves his sleigh behind and rides on a goat named Ukko instead. According to French tradition, Santa Claus has a brother named Bells Nichols, who visits homes on New Year’s Eve after everyone is asleep, and if a plate is set out for him, he fills it with cookies and cakes.

One in every 9000 people is an albino.

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world.

Everyday, more money is printed for Monopoly sets than for the U.S. Treasury.

Every year 4 people in the UK die putting their trousers on.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds; dogs only have about ten.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth but our nose and ears never stop growing.

In every episode of “Seinfeld” there is a Superman picture or reference somewhere.

If Barbie were life-size her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet two inches tall and have a neck twice the length of a normal human’s neck.

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants.

Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

Each year in America there are about 300,000 deaths that can be attributed to obesity.

About 55% of all movies are rated R.

About 500 movies are made in the US and 800 in India annually.

Arabic numerals are not really Arabic; they were created in India.

Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations (implemented on July 16, 1969) makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles.

The February of 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

The Pentagon in Arlington Virginia has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

There is actually no danger in swimming right after you eat, though it may feel uncomfortable.

The cruise liner Queen Elizabeth II moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

There are about 2 chickens for every human in the world.

The word “maverick” came into use after Samuel Maverick, a Texan refused to brand his cattle. Eventually any unbranded calf became known as a Maverick.

Two-thirds of the world’s eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

For every memorial statue with a person on a horse, if the horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died of battle wounds; if all four of the horse’s legs are on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

On a Canadian two-dollar bill, the American flag is flying over the Parliament Building.

An American urologist bought Napoleon’s penis for $40,000.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

Dreamt is the only English word that ends in the letters “MT”.

$283,200 is the absolute highest amount of money you can win on Jeopardy.

Almonds are members of the peach family.

Rats and horses can’t vomit.

The penguin is the only bird that can’t fly but can swim.

There are approximately 100 million acts of sexual intercourse each day.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies room during a dance.

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

There are only four words in the English language that end in “-dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

Every time you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of a calorie.

“101 Dalmatians” and “Peter Pan” are the only Disney animations in which both of a character’s parents are present and don’t die during the movie.

You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.

Hedenophobic means fear of pleasure.

Ancient Egyptian priests would pluck every hair from their bodies.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

Half of all crimes are committed by people under the age of 18. 80% of burglaries are committed by people aged 13-21.

An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

All polar bears are left-handed.

The catfish has over 27000 taste buds (more than any other animal)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Elephants are the only mammals that cannot jump.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

Starfish have no brains.

11% of the world is left-handed.

John Hancock and Charles Thomson were the only people to sign the Declaration of independence on July 4th, 1776. The last signature came five years later.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses.

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

A healthy (non-colorblind) human eye can distinguish between 500 shades of gray.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

Lizards can self-amputate their tails for protection. It grows back after a few months.

Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula”. It can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A honeybee can fly at fifteen miles per hour.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

A “jiffy” is the scientific name for 1/100th of a second.

The average child recognizes over 200 company logos by the time he enters first grade.

The youngest pope ever was 11 years old.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter is Tom Sawyer.

One out of every 43 prisoners escapes from jail. 94% are recaptured.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

The average chocolate bar has 8 insects’ legs melted into it.

A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair.

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

Elwood Edwards did the voice for the AOL sound files (i.e. “You’ve got Mail!”). He is heard about 27 million times a day. The recordings were done before Quantum changed its name to AOL and the program was known as “Q-Link.”

A polar bears skin is black. Its fur is actually clear, but like snow it appears white.

Elvis had a twin brother named Garon, who died at birth, which is why Elvis middle name was spelled Aron, in honor of his brother.

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

Donkeys kill more people than plane crashes.

Shakespeare invented the words “assassination” and “bump.”

There are a million ants for every person on Earth.

If you keep a goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

The name Jeep comes from “GP”, the army abbreviation for General Purpose.

Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

Cats’ urine glows under a black light.

A “quidnunc” is a person who is eager to know the latest news and gossip.

The first US Patent was for manufacturing potassium carbonate (used in glass and gunpowder). It was issued to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1970.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors, the helicopter, and many other present day items.

In the last 4000 years no new animals have been domesticated.

25% of a human’s bones are in its feet.

David Sarnoff received the Titanic’s distress signal and saved hundreds of passengers. He later became the head of the first radio network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than every Nike factory worker in Malaysia combined.

One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today is because cotton growers in the ’30s lobbied against hemp farmers (they saw it as competition).

“Canada” is an Indian word meaning “Big Village”.

Only one in two billion people will live to be 116 or older.

If you yelled for 8 years 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.

A mongoose is not a goose but more like a meercat, which is not a cat but more like a prairie dog, which is not a dog but more like a ground squirrel.

Stephen Hawking was born exactly 300 years after Galileo died.

Mercury is the only planet whose orbit is coplanar with its equator. Venus and Uranus are the only planets that rotate opposite to the direction of their orbit.

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe died on July 4th. Adams and Jefferson died in the same year. Supposedly, Adams last words were "Thomas Jefferson survives."

The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Grover Cleveland’s baby daughter, Ruth, not Babe Ruth the baseball player.

Dolphins can look in different directions with each eye. They can sleep with one eye open.

The Falkland Isles (pop. about 2000) has over 700000 sheep (350 per person).

There are 41,806 different spoken languages in the world today.

While many treaties have been signed at or near Paris, France (including many after WWI and WWII), nine are actually known as the "Treaty of Paris": Seven Years’ War (1763), American Revolutionary War (1783), French-Swede War (1810), France vs Sixth Coalition (1814), Battle of Waterloo (1815), Crimean War (1856), Spanish-American War (1898), union of Bessarabia and Romania (1920), establishment of European Coal and Steel Community (1951).

Robert Todd Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln’s oldest son) was in Washington DC during his father’s assassination as well as during President Garfield’s assassination, and he was in Buffalo NY when President McKinley was assassinated.

The city of Venice stands on about 120 small islands.

The past-tense of the English word "dare" is "durst".

Don Mac Lean’s song "American Pie" was written about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), who all died in the same plane crash.

The drummer for ZZ Top (the only one without a beard) is named Frank Beard.

Hummingbirds can’t walk.

When movie directors do not want their names to be seen in the credits, they use the pseudonym "Allen Smithee" instead. It has been used over 50 times, starting with "Death of a Gunfighter" (1969).

Four different people played the part of Darth Vader (body, face, voice, and breathing).

Pamela Lee-Anderson was the first to be born in Canada on the centennial anniversary of Canada’s independence (7/1/1967).

There is about 200 times more gold in the oceans than has been mined throughout history.

William Shatner is credited for being the first person on TV to say "hell" as well as to have the first inter-racial kiss (with Nichelle Nichols), both in episodes of Star Trek.

While the US government’s supply of gold is kept at Fort Knox, its supply of silver is kept at the Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Alexander Graham Bell’s wife and mother were both deaf.

Compact discs read from the inside to the outside edge, the reverse of how a record works.

In the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, if a man was not married by age 30, he would not be allowed to vote or watch athletic events involving nude young men.

Humans and dolphins are the only animals known to have sex for pleasure.

Pac-Man, Namco’s 1979 arcade game, was originally called "Puck Man". The name was changed when they realized that vandals could easily scratch out part of the letter "P".

Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same day, April 23, 1616.

There are about 7.7 million millionaires in the world (more than 1/1000th of the population).

The youngest mother on record was a Peruvian girl named Lina Medina. She gave birth to a boy by caesarean section on May 14, 1939 (which happened to be Mother’s Day), at the age of five years, seven months and 21 days.

The "middle finger" gesture originates back to 423 BC in Aristophanes play "The Clouds".